The Examiner reports on plans to better connect Eastern Jackson County cities with each other and the rest of the region.

“We’re hoping to connect more communities to get more people to work,” said Karen Clawson, senior transportation planner at the Mid-America Regional Council. MARC, working with cities such as Independence and with service providers such as the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, has been updating its Smart Moves long-range plan for more than two years and is getting ready to roll out that update as early as this month.